Sewing apparatus



June 16, 1942- P. GARDNER ET'AL SEWING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Jan. l5, 1941 .Ilnrul vll.,

IJune 16, 1942- I P. GARDNER ET AL SEWING APPARATUS .Filed Jan. Al5, 1941 2 SheetS-Sheet 2 Patented June 16, 1942 SEWING APPARATUS Percy Gardner, Glen Ridge, N.

N. Y., assignors to Lever Bias Kagan, Brooklyn,

J., and Ralph Machine Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application January 15, 1941, Serial No. 374,452

4 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in sewing apparatus and has particular reference to improvements in apparatus for sewing material into tubular form.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple and efcient apparatus for sewing material together and stretching the material along the line of stitching immediately after the same is formed.

A further object is to provide a simple, efficient, economically manufactured device which can be attached readily to any particular type of sewing machine for the purpose of expanding the seam without requiring any major alteration in the sewing apparatus itself.

A still further object is to provide a simple and efficient device in which the material along the seam is stretched after sewing so that when the material including the seam is laid flat it will be relatively smooth and even.

Further objects, features and advantages will more clearly appear from the following description, especially when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which form part of the specication.

In making bias binding material it is generally customary to take unlimited lengths of material, in the form of rolls, and pass the material through a sewing machine with opposite edges of the sheet lying fiat against each other for the purpose of sewing these edges together to form a tube, which tubular material is later passed through a bias cutting machine to form stretches of bias cut material of any desired width. When the sheet material is thus sewn together it often happens that the stitching is suiciently tight so that when the material is to be pressed out flat the material along the line of the seam forms sort of an elevated ridge which is not conducive to proper appearance and also proper handling. We have found that by providing a simple device to stretch the material along the seam after it has been sewed together and before it is wound up, the seam is loosened sufficiently so that when the material is laid at the adjacent edges of the material will lie in abutting relation and the sewing or stitching can be pressed out much flatter than usual. This is particularly true of material which is sewed with an overedge stitch of the type which is shown and described hereinafter.

Briey and generally, therefore, the invention comprises the combination of means for sewing edges of material together flatwise to form a tube, means for feeding or pulling the material through the sewing point, preferably a series of rollers to grip and engage the material and feed it at the desired speed, in combination with a device which engages the material along the line of stitching with sufficient pressure in the proper direction to tend to expand or stretch the seam as it travels from the sewing point to the feed rollers. Preferably this stretching device is in the form of a curved head on the end of a springpressed arm which extends in between the layers of material and is pressed outwardly against the line of stitching with sufcient regulated force to give the seam the necessary stretching so that when it is desired to press the material out flat the surface of thematerial is as smooth as possible and no objectionable ridges are formed thereon.

A preferred form which the invention may assume is shown in the drawings, in Which- Fig. 1 is a partial plan view of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a cross section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 i-s a cross sectiontaken on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the stretching arm;

Fig. 5 is a partial plan view of the material showing one type of stitching which may be employed;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a view of the material after it is pressed nat; and

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8--8 of Fig. 7.

In the form of the machine shown the material is to be sewed with the layers lying superposed. Preferably the material is fed across the table I0 of the machine, past a sewing machine which is indicated by the number II having a needle I2 at the sewing point. The material I3 is in two layers, the edges of which are to be sewn together. This type of machine is generally operated by pulling the material through the machine and through the intermediary or feed rolls I4, I5 and i6, which rmly engage thematerial and pull it across the table Ill at a speed synchronous with the speed of operation of the needle and the sewing mechanism. Preferably the material is placed under proper tension by a spring plate I1 of the type and function set forth in U. S. Patent No. 2,229,647 issued January 28, 1941.

In the type of stitching shown in Figs. 5, 6, 7 and 8, which is 'an over-edge stitch, it has been found that when it is attempted to press the material out flat (as shown in Fig. 7) the seam is rather tight and the material tends to bulge and not lie flat along the line of stitching, and in order to overcome this difficulty the invention contemplates the provision of means for stretching the seam 'after it is sewed, and one form of this device is shown in Fig. 4, and comprises an arm I8 which can be pivotally disposed on a stub shaft IS fastened in any suitable manner to the table l0. This arm is preferably curved so as to permit it to extend from the side of fthe material in between the upper and lower layers thereof, and has on its outer end a curved head 20 (shown in enlarged form in Fig. 2). The pressure of the arm and the head 20 against the line of stitching within the material is regulated by a spring 2|, the action of which on the arm can be regulated by means of a nut 22 adjustable in position on the shaft I9 by a set screw 23. One end of the spring is connected to the nut 22 and the other to the arm (as shown in Fig. 3) so that the head 2E) can be caused to press against the line ofV stitching within the tubular fabric with any desired degree of force. Preferably this stretching device is brought to play upon the material at some convenient point between the sewing point and the feed or pull-off rollers.

After having been stretched and wound up, it has been found that when later it is desired to press the material flat, the stretching action has caused the adjacent edges of the material to lie in an abutting relation (shown in Fig. 7) and that the stitching has stretched enough to lie relatively flat and cause a smooth even surface to present itself.

It is of course obvious that this stretching action can be achieved in many ways and by other forms of device than that one shown herein, and it may be adapted for material sewn together by stitches other than the one illustrated, but the effect will be relatively the same-that of stretching the seam sufficiently to allow the material to be pressed flat with abutting edges while still maintaining the stitch with the proper :degree of strength to hold the material together, but il; is especially advantageous with the type of stitching shown and described.

While the invention has been described in detail and with respect to a present preferred form thereof, it is not to be limited to such details and forms since many changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest aspects, Hence it is 4desired to cover any and all forms and modifications of the invention which may come within the language or scope of any one or more of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A sewing apparatus which comprises means for sewing material together, means for pulling the material away from the sewing point, and means for disposal between the sewing point and the pulling means to engage and stretch the sewed seam.

2. A sewing apparatus which comprises means for sewing adjacent superposed edges of material together with an over-edge stitch, means for pulling the material away from the sewing point, and means for disposal between the layers of material and pressing with regulated force against the material along the line of the seam to stretch the seam.

3. A sewing apparatus which comprises means for sewing superposed edges of material together with an overedge stitch, means for pulling the material away from the sewing point, an arm for extending between the layers of material and having a pressure head bearing against the seam on the inside thereof, and means for regulating the pressure of said head on the seam whereby the seam is stretched.

4. A sewing apparatus which comprises a sewing machine for sewing adjacent edges of superposed material together, means for pulling sewed material away from the sewing point, an arm for extending between the layers of material, a pressure head on the end of said arm to press against the material along the line of sewing and between the sewing point and the pull-away means, a spring engaging said arm, and adjustable means to regulate the tension of the spring whereby the pressure of the head on the arm against the seam can be regulated and whereby the seam may be stretched.

PERCY GARDNER. RALPH KAGAN. 

